Anti-Malarial Drugs
© IWM (Art.IWM PST 14167)
The Second World War was a global conflict, with theatres of war found around the world. The conditions in areas such as the Far East differed significantly to the campaign in Europe. In the Far East, the environment was a hotbed for malaria - carried by mosquitoes, due to vast swathes of swamp land and thick jungles, mixed with high temperatures and humidity.
The British Army knew about the dangers of malaria, in fact they had already begun supplying the army with preventative measures such as mosquito nets. Effective anti-malarial drugs such as Quinine were made available to the Allies to counteract the deadly effects of Malaria.
As the conflict in the Far East developed, Allied access to the supply of Quinine was cut off with the attack into the Dutch East Indies by the Japanese forces. This setback meant the Allies were left seeking alternative anti-malarial drugs.
Subsequently, Quinacrine (or Atabrine as it was known) was discovered and used.
DID YOU KNOW…?
Quinacrine was not popular amongst soldiers as it had the unusual side effect of turning the skin yellow.
SECOND WORLD WAR CONTENTS:
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